(1) If a player loses his mouthpiece, an officials timeout should be taken so he can search for it. If after 25 seconds have passed, he cannot find it, he must leave the game for one play and get a new mouthpiece. We had a referee immediately send a player out of the game for losing his mouthpiece without giving him the opportunity to look for it.

(2) A chain crew member made a derogatory comment to one of the officials. The official then called an USC on the home team for the chain crew member's comment. Game management should have been notified and had the chain crew member removed without penalizing the team. Unless specifically provide for in the rules e.g. not having the field cleared, a team should not be penalized for something the head coach cannot reasonably control.

(3) An A-8 game was to be played on a regular 11-man field and the coaches agree to shorten the width to A-8 regulation using small plastic orange cones. The Referee refused and insisted on using the full field contrary to A-8 rules. Using the cones is a standard practice when a game is played on a full field. We have to exercise better judgment in these cases.

(4) If a passer throws the ball very near the sideline and his momentum carries him OOB where there is an obvious late hit, it is roughing the passer. Although RTP can only be a live-ball foul, it doesn’t matter that the contact was OOB.

(5) Just before the ball is snapped all four defensive linemen do a coordinated belly flop on the ground which causes the RG to false start. That is not a FS but unsportsmanlike on the defense.

Weeks 4 & 5 (10/03/2014)

(1) Rules 2-24-4 and 2-24-7 conflict with regard to whether the ball must be controlled (held) for a placekick. Until we get a clarification, allow a placekick if the ball is in a fixed position (not moving).

(2) If there is a USC foul on a touchdown and time expires, the period is extended for the try. A recent case play in Referee was incorrect.

(3) There can only be roughing the passer if the player who is fouled meets the definition of a passer in 2-32-11. Otherwise it is simply unnecessary roughness. The difference is the automatic first down which usually doesn’t matter.

(4) An Athletic Director complained about excessive fraternization between a Linesman and a chain crew member during the game. Both guys are officials in another sport and know each rather well, so no harm was intended. However, officials are under the magnifying glass and perception becomes reality. Linesmen should limit their conversation to the communication necessary to officiate the game and save the chit chat for another time. The AD got the impression from the numerous conversations that the Linesman was a home team partisan and rooting for his team to lose.

(5) A coach complained because an official admonished a player who had committed a questionable act by telling him “Don’t be a dumbass.” While that may not be the best choice of words, most of the world would consider it a harmless comment. Apparently the player’s parents are very upset that their son was spoken to like that and the mother has complained in writing to the school.

(6) In regard to a quarterback throwing a pass from beyond the line of scrimmage, the rule says both feet have to be behind the line, so he theoretically can lean forward over the line as long as a foot is not breaking the plane. The philosophy has been that as long as a foot doesn’t touch the ground beyond the line, it is legal. The “whole body” is easier to officiate, but that’s not the rule. It is rare that an official will be exactly on the line looking at the quarterback, so this is not a good rule to nit pick.

(7) In order for the snapper to have roughing protection, the team has to be in a legal scrimmage kick formation. If a team is in a shotgun formation and a player four yards from the line kicks the ball we could still have roughing the kicker, but the defense gets the benefit of doubt.

(8) Rugby kickers that start running are a kicker by rule when they kick the ball and we could have roughing the kicker, but again the defense gets the benefit of doubt. The philosophy is avoid calling running into.

Week 3 (09/17/2014)
The ejections last week were down to 10, but that is still too many. Please emphasize this topic. The crew should discuss ejectable offenses in the pre-game.

(1) In one ejection report, a player was described as merely defending himself. The video showed he was actually the player who started the fight and threw two punches.

(2) On the previous play to a fight, the entire crew missed a very late hit. The odds are that if that foul (which was likely flagrant) was called, there would not have been a fight. The same would likely be true if the perpetrator had been warned. When players know they are being watched, they behave differently.

(3) We had an official attempt to justify a questionable ejection by telling the coach that CHSAA would review the video and “correct” any error. That is not true. CHSAA Bylaws prohibit CHSAA staff from supplanting or overriding the judgments of game officials. There are exceptions for mistaken identity. Also, schools may discipline their players based on video. The one game suspension is a minimum; the player’s conduct history is fully reviewed.

(4) We had a TD negated in a JV game because the runner taunted the opponents at the 12 yard line. By rule, a USC on a scoring play is enforced on the try or KO. While sub varsity games are a learning forum, the rules need to be learned off the field.

(5) Contact on a kicker that doesn’t knock him down is likely a no-call (9-4-5c).

(6) For intentional grounding:

a) If the QB gets hit after he throws, he is responsible for where the ball goes.

b) If the QB throws while he is being manhandled, he is responsible for where the ball goes.

c) If the QB gets hit as he is throwing, the referee must judge whether or not the contact was sufficient enough to alter the intended path of the ball.

d) If the defense touches the ball, the intended path is clearly altered.

Weeks 1 & 2 (09/09/2014)
I hope to get back in the swing of doing these weekly. We set a record for ejections in one week in Week 1 with 15. The targeting and fighting policies emanated from those. We know ejections are part of the game and we do not want to deter legitimate ejections, but we don’t want shooting from the hip and extreme judgments. There are a lot of guidelines in our Mechanics Manual and we need to encourage everyone to keep reading in. Kirk’s daily blurb should help do that.

(1) The only coach ejection thus far was clearly avoidable. Although the coach deserved the ejection, the correct protocol was not followed. Instead of promptly leaving the field when the game ended, the referee decided to go shake hands with both head coaches. That gave an assistant coach the opportunity to express his opinion about the referee and his crew. Neither seek nor avoid coaches (please see p. 100 CFOA Manual).

(2) We had a player ejected for a late hit OOB and the ejection report included a comment about another player that was NOT ejected. ”Number 59 told me we were horrible. Then turned and told me I was a stupid MF. Then he said we were stupid and called me an MF again.” This non-ejection is inexplicable. Upon hearing the quote, the school suspended the player for one game.

(3) We had a player ejected for shoving a player with open hands. The shove caused the opponent to take two steps backward and did NOT knock him down. Most officials who saw the video said they wouldn’t even have flagged it. The shove was apparent retaliation for a taunt which no official heard.

(4) Ejected players should remain under adult supervision and thus may remain in the team area. Let the coaching staff handle that. If there are aggravating circumstances, any offender could be ejected from the stadium area.

(5) On a punt, KCI was called when a K player bumped R as he was about to catch the ball. The muffed was recovered by K who advanced two yards before being tackled. The Referee never checked on the enforcement spot. The next play was snapped from where the play ended resulting in a seven yard penalty. Please note the ball was dead when K recovered it so the two-yard advance should never had been recognized.

(6) #44 was allowed to play an entire varsity game as LG.

(7) A BJ received a concussion when he ran into the goal post (it was padded).

(8) We’ve had a team use camouflage numbers on their home jersey and another team wear sleeveless jerseys. The prompt reporting of these uniform violations by the Area Director allowed corrections to be order before the next game. Please continue to report this stuff.